Monday, December 12, 2011

Another 4th Quarter Collapse

I was at the game last night. It was probably the most exciting game I have ever attended. And I have never walked out of a game as angry as I was last night.

I'm not going to blame Tony Romo. All he did was put up 321 yards, 4 touchdowns, and lead his team to a 12 point lead late in the 4th quarter. Miles Austin says he lost the deep ball late in the game in the lights and I'm going to take him at his word. A completion there might have sealed the win but the Cowboys missed it.

I blame the defense. Rob Ryan's crew was flat out awful pretty much from start to finish. It has become painfully obvious that the defense can't run the scheme that Ryan has tried to bring to Dallas. The pre-snap adjustments that are required with Ryan's defense are just too much for the players to handle. It is amazing how often the secondary completely misses assignments. The pass to Mario Manningham that went for a touchdown was a perfect example of that. No one even thought about covering him.

Demarcus Ware really blew it in the game too. The only game I've seen him play that was as bad as this one was last year against Jacksonville. His offsides penalties couldn't have come at a worse time. And he didn't get to Eli Manning all game long and he made no impact, except in a bad way, as the Giants completed their furious comeback.

Terence Newman. Need I say more? He dropped a pick six early in the game. And he appeared to give up on the deep ball that Mario Manningham dropped in the endzone at the end of the game. And Newman was getting burned all game long. He was terrible in this game.

What really hurts coming out of that game besides the huge loss is the fact that so many players were hurt in the game. Phil Costa left the game with a concussion and is questionable for the Bucs game this week. Mike Jenkins is hurt again. Barry Church has a separated shoulder and is probably out this week. Jay Ratliff is hurt. And, the biggest injury of all, DeMarco Murray is out for the season with a broken ankle.

After Romo and Miles Austin made a phenomenal effort to get the Cowboys in position for a game tying field goal the field goal team let the Cowboys down again. It looked like Dan Bailey's kick was headed in the right direction but it was blocked so early that we'll never know if it would have gone in. It doesn't really matter. All that matters is the field goal unit broke down at the worst possible time for the second week in a row. I have lost all faith in the coaching of Joe Decamillis.

I know technically that the Cowboys still control their own fate. Win three straight and they win the NFC East and make the playoffs. But nothing I saw from the defense last night leads me to believe this team deserves a spot in the playoffs. I expect and one and done if the Cowboys do miraculously bounce back from the loss and win out. I realized about 6 or 7 weeks ago that this team was very mediocre. It is a shame because the offense did everything they could to win the game. But you aren't going to win many games when your defense gives up 37 points and over 500 yards of offense.

I'm still hopeful that the Cowboys can pull it together but I have exactly zero faith that it will happen. We just have to hope that this team gets it together like the Cowboys did at the end of the 2009 season and wins out.

Garrett is a first time HC who has yet to have a full, complete year with the team, including a full off-season. Plus, except for the Philly debacle, the Cowboys are in every game, so I have no problem with giving JG more time. There are some issues but there's also some good things there are well.

Today, the DB's basically said the defensive scheme is too complicated and they also blamed the lack of a pass rush. Good point about the rush, but I'd hate to admit I was so stupid I couldn't grasp a scheme that others had managed to play elsewhere. That's embarrassing.

I suppose we just need to get more intelligent DB's.

It's the defensive players who are the problem here. They laid down and stop playing for Wade last year and now they're playing like crap for Ryan.

This D needs some new blood, and I don't mean one or two players. Next off-season, Cowboys need to use some high picks and maybe a key FA or two on some defense.

I agree with all that was said regarding the D, but I gotta draw a line with the defense of Garrett.

When I hear people say he has completed a full year as HC and we should give him a break. For all the games that we have lost (besides the Eagles), the Cowboys gave up. No heart, no effort. Wheres the mental toughness? How about some fire? none. Why? Because Garrett wants to act with class. What a joke. The fact of the matter is he has had more games than a whole season under his belt, not to mention a few years as an OC under the ineffective Wade Phillips, and as an assistant coach at that. So, what, we have Garrett in an important roll in the Cowboys org for what 5-6 years? So tell me, at what point to we call Garrett a failure as a coach? 2, 3 more years of idiotic seasons under this idiotic HC? 2, 3 more years of ineffective game management? 2, 3 more years of bad team management, more "we need to get better"?

I think we have seen all that Garrett has to offer, and it's not a good fit for this team.

Now, i am aware that the problems go much higher than Garrett. JJ is a huge problem. He SUCKS as a GM. How about letting Aikman become a GM. I had heard somewhere that he would like to do that. Who knows? I don't.

I still havent lost hope on this season, but I cannot stand to see the Cowboys looking like a bunch of idiots anymore. The face of the idiots is Garrett. If I hear "we have to get better" one more time, I am gonna scream.

My comment got all messed up, so here is a copy/paste version with what was cut out.

When I hear people say he hasn't completed a full year as HC and we should give him a break,it drives me nuts. The fact of the matter is he has had more games than a whole season under his belt, not to mention a few years as an OC under the ineffective Wade Phillips, and as an assistant coach at that. So, what, we have Garrett in an important roll in the Cowboys org for what 5-6 years? So tell me, at what point to we call Garrett a failure as a coach? 2, 3 more years of idiotic seasons under this idiotic HC? 2, 3 more years of ineffective game management? 2, 3 more years of bad team management, more "we need to get better"?

I think we have seen all that Garrett has to offer, and it's not a good fit for this team.

Now, i am aware that the problems go much higher than Garrett. JJ is a huge problem. He SUCKS as a GM. How about letting Aikman become a GM. I had heard somewhere that he would like to do that. Who knows? I don't.

I still havent lost hope on this season, but I cannot stand to see the Cowboys looking like a bunch of idiots anymore. The face of the idiots is Garrett. If I hear "we have to get better" one more time, I am gonna scream.

Rant off....For all the games that we have lost (besides the Eagles), the Cowboys gave up. No heart, no effort. Wheres the mental toughness? How about some fire? none. Why? Because Garrett wants to act with class. What a joke.

Frank...I don't see where you get the impression that the Cowboys gave up in any game this season. I think they have come up short a few too many times but it looks like the effort is there to me. The defense has not come up with a big stop since forcing a Grossman fumble in the first Redskins game this year.

r2w, first let me say I love your blog. If I didn't, I wouldn't have it on my favorites bar on Google Chrome!!!

Anyway, yes, the Cowboys have won a few games this year that were close. Unfortunately, most of those shouldn't have even been close. Miami, Washington, etc. The meltdowns this season are so very epic. These 4th quarter losses are ridiculous and to me, my opinion, shows that this team doesn't have what it takes to do what is needed to win.

It seems to me that this team finds more ways to lose than it does to win, and when they do win, it's a relief, not a foregone conclusion. Like I told my wife after a few of the close wins, "I should be happy but instead I am relieved that its over". unfortunately, I think that is exactly what the Cowboys are thinking as well.

Shouldn't be that way, but that's what I think is happening. I hope I am wrong and I truly hope that the Cowboys can get in the playoffs. We'll see....

p.s. Looks like we are all passionate Cowboys fans...I am wearing my Cowboys jackat as we speak.

I think that the most frustrating memory for me will be "what could have been". The Cowboys could easily have been 12-1 at this point and people would've been looking forward to a Dallas-Green Bay match-up in the Conference Championship game. No way they should have lost the games against the Jets, Lions, Cardinals or Giants. And yes, they were also up by three with two minutes left against the Patriots. I just can't believe that I'm looking at this team with a 7-6 record at this point in the season. So many opportunities wasted in one season. It's just disappointing but I guess if you play like an average team you deserve and average record.

The week before, I'm thinking the offense let the team down. You hold a team to 13 points in regulation you should win the game. This week, I'm thinking, the defense let the team down. You score 34 points against the best pass rush in the NFL you should win the game. But if the offense loses the game one week, and the defense loses the game the next week, maybe, just maybe, they're not really that good. >Sigh<